Today, industrial large-scale production dominates in all areas, which has come into conflict with the need for diverse and sustainable forest biotopes and has resulted in a narrow range of timber products with little variation in species and assortment. The project produces two handbooks that describe alternative methods for forestry and timber production and the opportunities they provide.
Despite strong interest in alternative forestry among many forest owners, and clear political objectives with major benefits for biodiversity and carbon sinks, it is still practised only to a very limited extent in Sweden. Large-scale, industrial forestry based on clear-cutting instead dominates, and there are few practically viable alternatives. Many forest owners experience considerable uncertainty regarding new methods. The project addresses all the challenges asso-ciated with alternative forestry in Sweden that hinder the transition. These include obstacles and the lack of economic incentives for forest owners, as well as challenges for timber producers and the way the market currently operates.
The purpose of the project is to reduce this research gap by quantifying working hours and eco-nomic flows, while describing the potential of new value chains from alternative forestry. The goal is to demonstrate new and in-demand value chains that increase incentives for commercially viable and alternative forms of forestry in Sweden, thereby providing support to forest owners and entrepreneurs. The new value chains – one for private actors and one for municipalities – are presented in two digital handbooks where all steps are explained in a practical and accessible way for anyone interested in new business models.
The project focuses on understanding and establishing the economic and practical aspects of alternative forestry and local production, as well as identifying market needs and obstacles. The study uses two case studies – a municipally owned forest in Gothenburg and private forest owners in Tiveden – who already apply alternative methods. The analysis covers working hours, economy (costs and revenues), carbon sequestration, and biodiversity, and spans the entire value chain from management to market. Barriers to implementation are also examined, such as forest inventories and loan applications.
The project is structured around four work packages in close collaboration with stakeholders:
- How can forests be managed in alternative ways? A literature review and economic analysis (cost–benefit) are carried out to estimate costs and revenues in alternative forest management. Data are also collected through interviews, group discussions, and “walk-abouts” with forest owners, as well as document analysis of forest management plans. Barriers to management are identified.
- How are products from alternative forestry handled? The focus here is on produc-tion and processing of timber products. Data are collected from several industry actors regarding production processes, transport needs, machinery, and skills. The analysis concentrates on working hours, economy (costs and revenues), and identifying the key issues and difficulties in the production chain.
- How do products from alternative forestry reach the market? This evaluates poten-tial market demand for more timber species and qualities, and how buyers and sellers of these can connect. Data are collected through interviews and document analyses. Barri-ers are identified, such as certification, timber classification, procurement rules, and working hours, while the economy is assessed.
- Mapping the journey from alternative forestry to a commercial product. Here, re-sults are integrated and described in digital handbooks and discussed in webinars. The project proposes solutions to identified barriers and compares the alternative value chains with conventional forestry in terms of costs, revenues, timelines, and profitability.
The scientific methods used include literature reviews, economic analysis based on cost–benefit frameworks, surveys, interviews, group discussions, participatory methods such as “walka-bouts”, document analysis, as well as modelling and pilot trials. The project group is interdisci-plinary, with expertise in geography, forest economics, forest enterprise, and architecture.
